Las Vegas Review-Journal: “A majority of the Clark County Commission took a formal stand Tuesday against COVID-19 misinformation, declaring it a public health crisis amid concerns from other lawmakers that doing so might agitate a deep division within Southern Nevada. The 5-2 vote made the county one of few jurisdictions in the U.S. to label falsehoods related to COVID-19 – often rooted in an extreme mistrust of the government – a crisis that has prolonged the pandemic by undermining efforts to combat spread of the disease. During a public comment period at the onset of Tuesday’s meeting, critics of the resolution accused county officials of pushing a single narrative about the pandemic and questioned how they planned to establish the barometer for fact.”

“‘I just find it incredible that we’re actually considering that the government should be the one arbiter of the truth,’ said Ed Uehling, a frequent participant in government meetings. Critics feared their ability to express their opinion would be threatened as they castigated the government for being heavy- handed with face mask and other health mandates and, contrary to public health experts, insisted that vaccines were unsafe. Often the public comment period was laden with conspiracy theories: There was talk of new world orders, a ‘plandemic’ and Dr. Anthony Fauci funding and creating COVID-19 to kill people. One woman said the vaccine was the predecessor to a ‘mark of the beast shot.’ A man wearing a ‘Jeffrey Epstein Didn’t Kill Himself’ shirt questioned whether people signed up for communism through secret applications on their cellphones and hidden contracts with China.”